Impression
I really like this. The things I like about this is that the main character is a girl who is mute. I don’t know if they use that in any other anime. This episode was a good mix of things like murder, competition, and more. Also I like the stalker thing too, even though it was kinda creepy. Why would you stalk a girl that is in elementary school who is able to play shougi very well? What really surprised me was that Ayumi was actually a boy? He didn’t look like a boy until at the end. They left us at a cliffhanger. I wonder what is gonna happen. I hope Ayumi beats up that fool or something. I never played shougi, but it looks hard. It something like chess, but totally different from it. Hope that the next episode is entertaining as this one. =D It great that they gave Shion a voice even though it’s her thoughts. The opening and ending rock!!!!!

Opening:”Lady Love” by RIZE

Ending:”My Dear Friend” by Teruma Aoyama

Summary
It starts with Shion witnessing the death of her own parents by a man when she is young. Then seven years later, by the shock of her parent’s death, she lost the ability to speak. Shion is running to a Shougi Association where she is giving the owner her handmade shougi piece cookies.

There she meets a man named Hani who is still in a match. Hani askes who she is and the owner says that she is also a shougi player, but even if she is in elementary school, she is really strong. If Shion wins 2 more matches today, she will become a professional shougi player. In her first match. she easily beats her first opponent.

Then Shion meets another Shougi player by the name of Saori who is in high school. Shion is then introduced to her second opponent who is named Ayumi Saito. Ayumi is also known as an undefeatable player. After this Shion and Saori go to get drinks and meets with a man named Hisatani who is a apprentice for Shion’s dad. When Saori and Hisatani are talking about Shougi players having beautiful hands, Shion is reminded of her parent’s murder. Thus, the match to be the professional shougi player begins. The match ends with Shion losing and Ayumi winning.

As Shion and Hisatani are going home, a man is following them. As Saori is in the car, she askes her driver to get as much info on both Shion and Ayumi. Then it jumps to Ayumi. The truth is that Ayumi is actually a man. He is playing because his mother needs money for surgery, so he had to dress up as a girl because he knew it would be more easier to win. Shion is now home with her foster parents and is eatting dinner. Out of the blue, she starts crying and is put to bed. We go into a strange room where the man stalker has all these pictures of Shion.

The next day as Shion is walking home with her friend, the stalker follows. Shion says good bye to her friend and the stalker is still following. Ayumi in her boy form is watching and goes closer. The man sees that he has been spotted and runs up to Shion and grabs her.